Nicky English: Clare now one of the top two contenders for the All-Ireland IrishTimesSport)
Limerick remain number one though Munster final will be close while Leinster should confirm Galway’s status as the province’s top teamLimerick’s Aaron Gillane celebrates scoring a goal against Clare. His return to the starting line-up strengthen's Limerick's hand in the Munster final. Photograph: James Crombie/InphoThis weekend’s Munster final is further proof of its mystique despite a lack of direct relevance to the All-Ireland series.
In my view they are as big a challenge to Limerick as is out there, particularly with the local voodoo or neighbouring tensions between the counties. I don’t think they’ll flatter to deceive. They also have Mark Rogers back in their match panel and that’s a big plus for the attack. If you’re Limerick, who requires more marking? Taylor is very good but he’s not the same scoring threat as Kelly.
Cian Kenny was a new forward. Eoin Cody played well and so did Martin Keoghan. Maybe there was a glimmer of hope. Not for long. The display against Wexford confirmed my initial reservations. They’ve had very little success with this over the past couple of years. In the 2019 Leinster final, they launched high ball in on the Wexford defence and again in that year’s All-Ireland. They did a bit of the same against Waterford in the 2020 semi-final. All to no avail.